Is elevated body mass index protective against cervical spine injury in adults?

Body Mass Index and Mortality in Blunt Trauma: The Right BMI can be Protective

BACKGROUND

There are limited studies examining the role of BMI on mortality in the trauma population. The aim of this study was to analyze whether the "obesity paradox" exists in non-elderly patients with blunt trauma.

METHODS

A retrospective study was performed on the Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP) database for 2016. All non-elderly patients aged 18-64, with blunt traumatic injuries were identified. A generalized additive model (GAM) was built to assess the association of mortality and BMI adjusted for age, gender, race, and injury severity score (ISS).

RESULTS

28,475 patients (mean age = 42.5, SD = 14.3) were identified. 20,328 (71.4%) were male. Age (p < 0.0001), gender (p < 0.0001), and ISS (p < 0.0001) had significant associations with mortality. After GAM, BMI showed a significant U-shaped association with mortality (EDF = 3.2, p = 0.003). A BMI range of 31.5 ± 0.9 kg/m² was associated with the lowest mortality.

CONCLUSION

High BMI can be a protective factor in mortality within non-elderly patients with blunt trauma. However, underweight or morbid obesity suggest a higher risk of mortality.

Characterization of all-terrain vehicle-related thoracolumbar spine injury patterns in children using the AOSpine classification system

PURPOSE

To evaluate thoracolumbar spine injury patterns, demographics, and clinical characteristics in pediatric patients following all-terrain vehicle-related trauma.

METHODS

A retrospective review of patients 0-17 years old admitted to a level I trauma center following an ATV-related incident from 2004 to 2013 was performed. Thoracolumbar spine injury patterns, accident mechanism, driver/passenger status, and demographic and clinical data were compared between patients with and without a spine injury.

RESULTS

Of 456 pediatric patients involved in ATV-related trauma, 36 sustained one or more thoracolumbar spine injuries (7.9%). These patients tended to be older, taller, heavier, and had a higher BMI. ATV rollover was the major statistically significant mechanism of injury to cause spine fractures (61%). Patients with spine injuries had twice the hospital length of stay compared with those without (4 days vs. 2 days, P = 0.003). Nonstructural spine injuries (A0) were the most common type of injury (49.1%), followed by wedge-compression fractures (A1) (41.1%). In patients with a thoracolumbar spine injury, there was a mean of 3.11 spine injuries per child. Four (10%) patients with thoracolumbar spine fractures also sustained a cervical spine fracture.

CONCLUSION

Once a thoracolumbar spine injury has been detected in a patient, the entire spinal column should be scrutinized because there is a high likelihood for additional injuries throughout the spine. Younger pediatric patients (≤ 8 years old) exhibit a spine fracture pattern distinct from that of older children who have a mature osseous-ligamentous complex.

Obese trauma patients have increased need for dialysis

PURPOSE

Obesity is a risk factor for the development of acute kidney injury but its effect on the need for dialysis in trauma has not been elucidated. Additionally, the contribution that obesity has towards risk of mortality in trauma is unclear. We hypothesized that patients with a higher body mass index (BMI) will have a higher risk for need of dialysis and mortality after trauma.

METHODS

This is a retrospective analysis using the National Trauma Data Bank. All patients ≥ 8 years old were grouped based on BMI: normal (18.5-24.99 kg/m²), obese (30-34.99 kg/m²), severely obese (35-39.99 kg/m²) and morbidly obese (≥ 40 kg/m²). The primary outcome was hemodialysis initiation. The secondary outcome was mortality during the index hospitalization.

RESULTS

From 988,988 trauma patients, 571,507 (57.8%) had a normal BMI, 233,340 (23.6%) were obese, 94,708 (9.6%) were severely obese, and 89,433 (9.0%) were morbidly obese. The overall rate of hemodialysis was 0.3%. After adjusting for covariates, we found that obese (OR 1.36, CI 1.22-1.52, p < 0.001), severely obese (OR 1.89, CI 1.66-2.15, p < 0.001) and morbidly obese (OR 2.04, CI 1.82-2.29, p < 0.001) patients had a stepwise increased need for hemodialysis after trauma. Obese patients had decreased (OR 0.92, CI 0.88-0.95, p < 0.001), severely obese had similar (OR 1.02, CI 0.97-1.08, p = 0.50) and morbidly obese patients had increased (OR 1.06, CI 1.01-1.12, p = 0.011) risk of mortality after trauma.

CONCLUSIONS

Obesity was associated with an increased risk for dialysis after trauma. Mortality risk was reduced in obese, similar in severely obese, and increased in morbidly obese trauma patients suggesting an inflection threshold BMI for risk of mortality in trauma.

Highlights from the scientific and educational abstracts presented at the ASER 2017 annual scientific meeting and postgraduate course

The annual meeting of the American Society of Emergency Radiology (ASER) took place in Toronto, Canada, on September 6 through September 9, 2017. Attendees represented the USA as well as international emergency radiology communities, including those from academic, private practice, and teleradiology settings. There were several "members in training" in attendance as well. The meeting again featured the "Trauma Head to Toe" 2-day didactic course, highlighting various important topics on imaging of traumatic injuries. Scattered throughout the 4 days were several poster and case of the day presentations, scientific sessions, and self-assessment modules. The following is a summary of the educational posters and scientific papers.